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Oxegen 2009, in their infinite wisdom, have chosen Tripmi.ie as their exclusive carpooling partner – and are even offering free parking tickets to cars with 4 or more people!  So if you’re thinking of joining the party at Europe’s number 1 music festival, surf over to the Oxegen Group and jump in the pool.  Simply find a carpool within the group, and if there’s not one that suits you be sure to Create a Trip (whether you’re a driver or a passenger) - your trip will be saved in the system for everyone else to see.  You can save money, save time and save the planet….and you never know who you might meet!

It’s getting easier and easier to make every purchase a conscious choice, as the technology and the options get better all the time.  The following is a personal survey of some of the sites out there that combine a social ethos and green processes to make products and gifts that can make everybody feel good.  In the spirit of good globalism, some of them are in Ireland and others are international.  And of course, please feel free to share your own favourites…

Starting at the beginning of life, Hug the Bundle is an Irish eco-parenting blog set up by a mother in order to share her experiences, generate discussions and generally provide a place were like minded mothers can ‘meet’ in order to chat about anything! They also stock great products like a new range of bamboo cloth nappies direct from Little Comfort based in Donegal Town.

Nest is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of women in developing countries by helping them create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses. To do this, Nest provides micro-credit loans to be used for the purchase of the supplies and materials necessary to begin and/or maintain art or craft-based businesses. The funds for these loans are generated by selling a unique line of clothing, accessories and merchandise for the home produced exclusively for Nest by a group of artists and designers.

In the same vein, Global Goods Partners are dedicated to alleviating poverty and promoting social justice by strengthening women-led development initiatives and creating access to the US market for marginalized communities in Asia, Africa and the Americas.  The goods are all fair trade and you get to see a photo of its creator and learn more about the enterprise group they’re working with.  Unfortunately, they only ship to the US, but maybe you know someone there who would like a present?

At Etsy.com you can buy and sell all handmade goods; it’s a great outlet for small designers without a corporate brand behind them.  This means that some of the goods are a little, well, quirky, but there are also high-quality pieces that are worth looking for.  If you love making discoveries, this is the site for you. And to keep it local you can browse in the shops in Ireland.

Tom’s Shoes are really gorgeous, and for every pair sold, one pair goes to a child in a developing country.  They also have vegan styles - that don’t look it! - but ship only to the UK and Northern Ireland.  If you have friends in either place who might receive them for you, they really do have beautiful shoes, as well as being for the good.

For the rest of your body, check out Mountain Rose Herbs.  Since 1987 they have been delivering quality certified organic products with a strict emphasis on sustainable agriculture. From their bulk organic herbs and spices, to essential oils and herbal teas, the quality and integrity of what they offer is “unparalleled with smiles guaranteed.”  They also support organic agriculture, offer info on herbal education and sustainability projects.  You can order online to Ireland – and they also ship wholesale.

If you’re not ready to buy in bulk, thanks to Susan Mulholland for the tip about Jo Wood Organics - a must if you want to pamper yourself with a guilt free eco conscience.  In a word, yum.

The Irish company everyone must have heard of thanks to the rock n’ roll connection, Edun specializes in Organic Clothing, Graphic Tees, and Eco Clothing with a mission to drive sustainable employment in developing economies. The company was founded in 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono.

And finally, ladies, if you want an eco alternative to going through the average 12,000 tampons or pads/pantiliners in your lifetime, check out the Diva Cup. It’s not, I stress, any kind of spongey/cloth thingy of which I have a horror. As blogger Mrs Micah testifies: “I can say without a doubt that it’s one of the few products which have revolutionized my life.”  And they’re available in Ireland from thebabyorchard.com, which is worth checking out anyway for cool stuff.

And if you change your mind about any of your purchases, now even ebay is getting a social conscience!    “When your shopping shapes the world” – fair trade and socially conscious goods of a variety almost equal to the old-school ebay and with a clear conscience to boot.

The signs of change are everywhere: not just in the economy, but also in the enormous wave of new ventures that are using cutting-edge technology, sustainable objectives and social consciousness to create a new paradigm of private enterprise for the common good.  Umair Haque, the Harvard economist, eloquently describes the collapse of the “Zombieconomy” and what he calls Capitalism 1.0 evolving into Capitalism 2.0, or constructive capitalism.  He also talks about old business models that produced good incomes and bad outcomes giving way to an “institutional revolution,” coming up from the grass-roots of society and changing the world as we know it.

In fact, once you start looking, the amount of organisations and companies trying to do the right thing for people, nature and the planet is simply overwhelming and far more than I could ever fit into one blog post.  So I’ve divided them into three categories: digital, physical and consumable.

Today I’m listing my top 10 in the digital category: ways in which with simply a click you can change the world for the better. (with thanks to Mashable)

Digital Actions for good:

1. Change your iGoogle theme to help the hungry

2. Every time you use Windows Live™ Messenger or Windows Live Hotmail®, our free webmail service, they’ll share a portion of their advertising revenue with the cause you choose from among their partner social cause organizations

3. Teach your Granny to Text: The big book of small actions to change the world is out now.
Written by children, for children it’s a technicolour ‘how to’ for doing things.  And changing things. How can you change the world?  We Are What We Do is a new kind of movement inspiring people to change the world one small action at a time.  Their philosophy is simple: small actions x lots of people = big change.  They have the 130 small things that you can do to change really big things. Pick an action, track it here, and see how it all adds up.

4. Seventy-one ways to give without opening your wallet: mostly tweeted ideas, very brief and some very good

5.  Good is - the magazine.  Subscribe and 100% of the fee supports a social action project

6. Changing the Present -  Like Bothar but even more gift ideas: roof tiles, tutoring for deaf children, books, tetanus injections, and more.

7. The Case Foundation - another giving website, but this has suggestions of things you can do as well as donations or gifts that benefit those in need.

8. World Concern - More giving again, but they also do HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa, water wells, orphans, education and help prevent child trafficking.

9. Good.ly For all you eco-bloggers, a url shortener that donates to charity for every address you shorten.  Most Irish charities aren’t signed up yet, but using it creates the potential demand so try it out.

10. Blackle is a black version of Google that consumes less wattage. Apparently, it takes 74 watts to power a white screen, but only 59 watts for a dark screen. The site aims to “save energy, one search at a time.” You can also follow it on Twitter for more simple energy-saving ideas.

Next time, I’ll list my favourite sites for consumable actions for good - or, to put it another way - Shopping!!!  And please let me know of your favourites too so we can spread the word!

Now I really feel famous! I’m in the Femme section of the Evening Herald. It’s my first time in the company of Sarah Jessica Parker, too, and I think she probably was pretty happy to be on the same page as me.  In fact, that’s the only thing that was missing from Sex in the City - a little white dog - maybe she and I should do lunch…!

Hello humans!  Now you can now follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Linkedin and LiveJournal for news on green living, new technology, tasty food, social change and everything of interest to car-surfing terriers…that should be enough social media for one dog, don’t you think?

Our first media event  happened today! The Irish Times article was published, but I wasn’t particularly thrilled about my hair in this photo - you’d think they might have pushed it out of my eyes just for the snap - and my collar is hanging loose a bit which isn’t really the look I’m going for.  In fact, no-one asked me about my day, which is a lot more interesting than some human sitting at a computer: first I get to terrify the postman, then there might be a stroll up to the park or the post office, maybe the odd cat to chase along the way, and who knows, if I’m lucky someone clumsy will have dropped a chip or two outside the Spar!  In the evenings, if the humans are having chicken I always get a little taste, and in between I’m very good at sleeping.  They’ve accused me of snoring recently, but I don’t believe that.  All in all, it’s hard work but I love my job as protector, minder, and object of affection.  It’s pretty cool.  Especially when there’s chicken. And broccoli.  Some humans are surprised, but I really love broccoli.  Well, I do love all things green!  Why isn’t that in the Times, I ask you?

Hello world!  Here we are in a new year (whose digits total 11, which is always exciting for those of you with a taste for numerology: a gateway year, transformation from the earthly to the divine, and more) and so as well as our repeated call for everybody to carpool, rideshare, hitch a lift! I also wanted to share some good news stories, of which there are, happily, several:

1: The Motorola Renew phone - entirely made of rubbish, and totally recyclable!  Let’s all tell the other manufacturers that’s what we want.

2: Malawi, one of the most afflicted and poorest countries on earth, is turning its fortunes around by rejecting chemical fertilisers and returning to organic composting methods, with bigger, healthier yields. There’s more on this at The Independent website.

3: Speaking of traditional methods, an even bigger scheme is being hatched by the founders of Green & Black’s chocolate and Future Forests, the first carbon offsetting company.  Backed by Silicon Valley funding, trials are under way to use charcoal to stuck the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and bury it, where it will be a powerful fertiliser.  This method was developed by pre-Columbian Amazonian Indians. Cool, eh?  More on this when you got to The Independent among other places. The thing is, no matter how bad things get, humans are actually extremely ingenious creatures and there’s always a solution.  All you have to do is…imagine!  Imagine in 2009!  Okay, so maybe the rhyme isn’t so hot…but you get the idea. Anyone with other good news please share it - let’s look on the bright side as Monty Python said…

It’s great to see the media recognising that rideshares are the transport of the future -(see The Irish Independent) - I do wish, however that the writer had covered more than just the Dublin City carpool website!  While that site is commendable in its ambitions, it has its limitations and it would be nice for people to know that there are several carpool websites - of which Tripmi.ie is the best, of course!  The fact that Tripmi.ie is all-Ireland and keeps your details private are two of the main differences between us and them…But hopefully the media will continue to acknowledge the importance of carpooling in the current economic climate but next time give people all the information!